What should we bring?
Hi all
My husband and I are moving to Qatar in August and will have MANY questions (!) but I'm interested to know what people think we should bring with us from home (Australia) and what would be better bought there. We have a fully furnished two bedroom apartment provided by the school and a 300kgs baggage allowance, which I'm sure will not go very far. We're happy to ship some stuff also.
We will want to bring books and stuff for school, but as far as household stuff goes, what do people think? Should we bring our TV and DVD, which are only a couple of years old, or is that stuff pretty cheap? What about kitchen appliances - rice cooker, food processor, juicer, that sort of stuff. Do furnished apartments have reasonable utensils, as we're both keen cooks - is stuff readily available? I did see in a post (I think?!) that IKEA products are available - is there an IKEA shop or is it mail order? (I seem to be fond of the word "stuff" - not good for an English teacher!!)
Sorry to ramble on .. it's early morning and the coffee hasn't fully kicked in ... I'm sure there'll be more.
Many thanks, y'all.
Mez
Actually, I've got used to not having a decent pub - Aussie ones are just not the same! It's OK if you're in Sydney as there are a couple of decent ones like those back home, but otherwise they're soulless drinking holes, with flourescent lighting, full of men in work clothes.
I used to go the cheap BYO ones (curry houses in Brick Lane) - one thing I was looking forward to in Qatar is the belief that I'd get a decent curry again, without having to make it myself or get my hubby to (he makes a mean dhal).
I've actually put another post about restaurants as we do like to eat out. Yes, curry without a pint isn't quite the same is it?
Well, I'll let you get back to work!!
Brick lane Currys wow I remember those, ever go to the posh glass fronted one !!. Or did you always go to the bring your own booze ones !!.
Actually you can get good curry here and fairly cheap too, there is a spit and sawdust place out by the airport called Talys that is dirt cheap, and does fantastic Dhals.
But what do I miss the most,where to start on that, well how about actually having a beer with the curry, unless you goto a 5*hotel for the curry you can't drink. Thats a pain.
Its hard to feel at home here I miss that, there is very little sense of belonging here as you will always feel like an outsider.
PC world, its a pain going down the computer souks all the time and bargaining. Although the prices are pretty good.
Some English foods, pork obviously is out.
A good book shop, English newspapers and Magazines.
Freedom, one thing that was a shock was the exit permit situation, every time you want to leave the country you need an exit permit from your employer, it makes me describe Qatar as the worlds largest open prison.
There will soon be a Virgin Megastore. So things are looking up.
Decent PUB !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That cannot be overstated enough, you can drink here no problem but I CRAVE !! a nice little pub that I can pop down to in the evening have a nice pint, perhaps some grub. Read the Sundays or sit out in the garden during the evenings.
It is NEVER gonna happen here. And I really really miss that !!
Oh, yes, we've had the steaming on the outside phenomenon! I couldn't understand what was happening and tried wiping the inside of the windscreen only to realise it was on the outside!! Weird. We have to go to Athens for some training at the end of June/beginning of July, so even though it will be winter here (and it gets very cold, despite the myth that it doesn't) we'll have a chance for some aclimatisation in the Athens heat.
What do you miss most about London? (Am I not following etiquette by wandering in this thread? Sorry as a newbie to the forum, not sure what's the go.) The thing I missed most when I first moved to Australia (and still do) was a decent curry! They just don't do it right here! When I go back I make a trip to Brick Lane - took my Aussie husband with me last time to prove how good they are.
Thanks for the tip re the DVDs - I'll pack 'em as they're light and leave the TV to a grateful friend. I want to bring my PC but might buy a laptop there as well there is the school doesn't provide one.
Isn't it the middle of the night in Qatar?
I can edit but not remove errrr!!
Bring all the DVDs even if they are pirated, Ok maybe not the porn !! but I brought all my DVDs and I didn't keep a record but I am pretty sure they all made it.
They could whip a couple out at customs but because you got em cheap you won't be that bothered. Incidentally you can pick up pirated DVDs and Games here really easily so don't worry about that.
I would bring the books rather than the TV, collections like that are hard to replace and there are no decent book shops here. Just buy a cheap Television here.
Yep am British, been here 11 months and before that good old London.
Good to hear you are used to the heat, I once saw 54c on my car thermometer, and it was parked in the shade !!
One of my colleagues still doesn't believe me that it can get that hot, ever seen condensation on the outside of a window, that's how hot and humid it gets. Last sept, I had to use the windscreen wipers because it was steaming up on the outside !!
.. love the dancing Spiderman
Oh, yes .. we're prepared for the heat .. for the last three years my husband and I have been living in outback NSW - first in Bourke and now in Condobolin. It's HOT.
The TV is probably quite heavy as it's a wide screen - and I think it's going to be the books and stuff that I'll find difficult to replace. I'm going to get a full list from our employer of what's in the apartment - the principal of the school is Australian, so she should understand the sort of things we'd be looking for.
The fact that you said 60 quid, makes me think you're from my original neck of the woods? British? I'm from London originally.
One of my other questions was about DVDs. We have quite a few (bought in Bali, so probably pirated ;-) ). Do we need to be careful which titles we bring? Are there restrictions of what films are allowed in Qatar? I don't think we have anything that would be offensive, but considering they were only about $2 each, would we be better ditching them - or will the evenings be too long without DVDs to watch - and film nights to have while making new friends?
BTW - this is a great site, people. It's good to be able to ramble about silly things that we expats might worry about without being thought too trivial. Keep up the good work, and hopefully I might get to meet some of you when we move in August .. it's getting close and somewhat scary!!
Thanks,
Mez
Double check with your employer what is included in the apartment. My company provided some apartments furnished but with out Electrical appliances and others with small electrical appliances such as a toaster kettle.
Microwaves are generally always included.
There is no IKEA here, there is one in Dubai but obv you can't bring a sofa on the plane.
You can buy Rice cookers, steamers all that lot here for cheap. But they don't weigh very much so bring em.
As for your TV how much does it weigh, if its heavy you might be better off bringing more books, records etc and just buying a TV here, the prices are pretty good here and Carrefour is now full of plasma TVs from 3,500-10,000++
Every electrical appliance is available here don't worry. And I still think prices on these Items is pretty good.
I brought a Pioneer HDMI enabled DVD player for 60 quid.
Hope some of that helps, there are a few Aussies out here depending on where you are from in the country you may be already prepared for the Heat of the summer.
Cheers